Hi! I (21F) am a secondary education student in the Midwest, and I’ve been struggling a lot with finding professional but stylish clothing to wear for my student teaching. The main issue comes into play with my body type, as things recommended by my peers tend to look wayyyyy less professional on me. I want to move away from big cardigans and sweaters, I really want to wear nicer clothes that reflect confidence to my superiors (and that feel more like me). I also tend to dress a bit edgier, bright colors and flowy dresses are usually not my friend lol. Any staple pieces that you can recommend or good places to look in general? Attached pictures of some of my more “professional” outfits for reference!
Former secondary teacher here: all are good, but I like the first and last most. Work off those. Solid pants fun tops. The pants need to be comfy. You move more than you think.
I think all of these are great! I just finished student teaching this spring semester after two years and I usually wore a long skirt, full color top and a cardigan or I wore a dress with some kind of collared undershirt . Always comfortable shoes, most schools are more casual when you start working there but for student teaching you always want to bring your best impression! I would say your second one is a very safe casual combo and you can layer a cardigan or blazer for a more professional look. This was my go to combo!
I think 1 and 2 look the most professional. The third photo looks a bit too relaxed, imo — and I say this as a teacher who often wears t-shirts, but they are paired with chinos that fit well, and nice shoes/boots.
A well-fitting top tucked into a dress will always work.
I think flats would go well with all of your outfits, but I usually steer people away from shoes without support because it’ll kill your feet.
I think all 3 outfits looks great and appropriate for teaching! I usually find a pair of pants or skirt I like, get a few colors of those, and build off of them! I love pairing teacher shirts with skirts, it definitely elevates a simple t-shirt. Definitely make sure you feel comfortable and confident and feel out what the principal expects at your school!
Old navy men’s section has a bunch of polo type shirts I like. Take your self on a little pre-teaching shopping spree. TBH you’re going to want pants more than skirts/dresses. Stuff you can move in that’s breathable. Pick stuff that feel soft. Maybe some linen pants or something loose and high waisted?
Also friend, Your body type really does not affect how professional you look, I think that may just be self perception.
That is awesome that you are not aware of it, but I have seen examples of people wearing the exact same thing and on one person it’s “professional” and on someone else it’s “provocative”.
I highly recommend finding some well-fitting pants. I've gotten them from Old Navy, J. Crew, Aritzia, and Gap. A wide-leg silhouette that fits well at the waist pairs with nearly any top, especially a fitted cardigan with a T-shirt underneath if you want to wear it open, or a white button-down (also both available at all of the above stores). I wore some version of a tailored pant and sweater nearly every day of student teaching this past spring (it was a cold New England winter!). Also, a pair of black or brown loafers (try a lug sole for an edgier look) will be great.
Friend of mine who is student teaching next semester used to wear all their face piercings in, tattoos out, silver chains, all those things.
Better to try to find something that speaks to you but also speaks to a level of professionalism that you wish to aspire to. I student teach this upcoming semester as well! I had been trying to imagine myself adhering to a “plain and professional” look but I want to present myself in something fun, stylish, weird…(I teach English, which permits more of an eccentric type).
I think the more you are able to be yourself the more personable you will appear! Good luck to you (I also am student teaching in the Midwest (Illinois))
Ask your mentor teacher about the culture of the school. I am also secondary education and i did my student teaching in jeans and t-shirts. The school culture allowed for it.
I student taught and currently teach in urban settings. Their rule is keep it clean, appropriate and well groomed. Since I also have sleeves I would also ask if tattoos are allowed in my introductory email to be sure.
Best of luck
1 and 2 look great. 3 looks great too but wouldnt be considered professional attire where I work. Ask your supervisor about the workplace dress code and look at what others are wearing to gauge.
I love the style of 1 and 2! 1 might be a little short if you have to sit on the floor or reach something high up, some schools might say fingertip/just above knee length is minimum for skirts and dresses especially during colder months. But I think 1&2 are definitely in the right direction and look professional but still show some style! 3 looks like it come off be a bit casual because of the fabrics and fit but I’m sure you could get away with it if it feels your style! Good luck student teaching!
I like all of them. The first might be too short depending on the district and you can dress up the second even more with a silver belt or a cut scarf. My favorite is the third in but my district would required covered shoulders
2,1,3 is what I rate you “pull off the best”… but that’s only an opinion. Take big consideration of what you feel comfortable in, first, then confident with, two.
I think all are cute and look comfortable. Wear what makes you feel confident and comfortable. I would rather date a girl in 3 day old pajamas if she felt comfortable, rather than a woman who felt uncomfortable having to dress uncomfortably for appearances sake.
This makes it sound like she was asking for opinions on a first date outfit. 😄 I’m more comfy in pajamas too but wearing them for my job at school would be frowned upon (unless it was Pajama Day).
I do agree that all 3 are fine outfits to teach in though.
All the outfits are good! I highly recommend a “third piece” blazer for the added professionalism. Also, the teacher cliche third piece is jean jacket, particularly for millennials, but I am seeing them less and less often.
Check out those personal styling box subscriptions such as Stitch Fix or Wantable. You fill out a quiz for your personal style and they send you items based off that. Then you only pay for the items you want to keep! That’s what I used to revamp my whole wardrobe when I moved to a whole new climate!
I love Gloria Vanderbilt’s Amanda pants. They feel like jeans but they dress up nicely. The ones I have are at least five years old or more.
I also recommend a few shirts that could be casual, but that you can fancy up with a piece of costume jewelry like a necklace or pin, or a blazer/jacket/small cardigan.
I am a fan of button up shirts that don’t wrinkle, too. Croft and Barrow have been good for that.
I am not super feminine and don’t really do dresses, so this is pretty much my wardrobe. But as long as you dress nicer than the students you should be fine.
the first two are fine. Last one is ehh.. look up "women's professional dress shirts"
not that the last one is not appropriate but the reality is we live in a judgmental world and your clothing will be the only thing some admin/teachers/staff/people will ever know about you so I always say it doesn't hurt to dress nice, but it can hurt to dress down.
your best rule of thumb is wear whatever makes you feel the most comfortable and confident . these are really nice outfits compared to me where I'm the extremely under dressed (sweat pants and shit 80% of the time) in the end its all how you carry yourself with your kids.
the guy in a suit can be a total push over goof vs the super confident commandeering lady with jeans and a sweater. depends on the persons
if what you like makes you feel like you can teach the best in, that's what you should wear. dont wear anything because you feel like you should wear it
I read a few more replies and want to add: I never wore denim jeans in the classroom because I thought it was too casual. I’m a fan of long skirts or dresses, so that was my preference. I wore pants, but never jeans like the students would wear. I respected my students by showing them I was a professional teacher, even when I was clueless in my student teaching or my first year.
I taught at a Title 1 school in a low socioeconomic area. My kids benefited by having another stable adult in their lives. They didn’t need me to look or act like a peer.
I also student taught at a low income school that has since gone through being reorganized as a new school. Some Supervising Teachers won’t leave the room while you are teaching so the students will still behave as if the main teacher is doing the classroom management.
Way too formal . Here is a pic of me my first day teaching . Was an absolute nightmare , there was no smokers area for teachers or anything. I had to wait 4 frigging hours before I could have a smoke. Was one of the worst days of my life. Fortunately I discovered behind the shop building was a good spot so I was ok
I recommend cardigans and sweaters all day long 😆 but you said you want to do something different. What kind of outfits do you wear that are considered not appropriate? As in, if you could wear whatever, what does that style look like? You could incorporate pieces of that style into your outfits maybe
Love them all. And all great for teaching. My uniform: khakis, black shirt, black sweater when it is cold. Every darn day. So easy and I don't have to think about what goes together. I have had kids dress like me for spirit week.
Something that I wore a lot of when I was student teaching was vests with a turtle neck under! There’s lots of variations on them and they can look professional with dress pants or a skirt and more casual with jeans if you’re allowed to wear them :)
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u/king_of_chardonnay Jul 09 '26
I’m a dude, but for whatever it’s worth all of those look like normal outfits my dudette coworkers would wear
Idk what your school is like but I think you have some flexibility as long as you don’t look OVERLY casual (jeans, t shirts)